34 COLLEGE GARDENS

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Single storey with attic high Victorian red brick gate lodge, designed by John Lanyon in 1879 as a porter’s lodge for Methodist College (HB26.28.027), Belfast. An asymmetrical red brick building with steep pitched gables, corner turret and trefoil arched leaded windows to attic. Located on corner of Lisburn Road, the gate lodge and adjacent sandstone gate screen (HB26.28.025) mark western entrance to College Gardens, a tree-lined street of terraced houses that face south on to grounds of Methodist College.

Rectangular on plan with c.1960s single-storey flat-roofed extension to NE. Main roof consists of intersecting gables - covered in Bangor Blue natural slates with bands of Westmoreland green in fish-scale pattern; stair tower at north corner surmounted by conical roof in same fish-scale slate and capped by simple iron finial; same applies to hipped roof at single storey canted bay to College Gardens elevation, with decorative lead flashing to abutment. Red terracotta crested ridge tiles, with sandstone copings to raised verges and trefoil carved gablets at kneelers; apex stones are plain. Twin octagonal dressed sandstone chimneys set at 90 degrees to main gable. Continuous dressed sandstone corbelled eaves course and replacement metal profiled gutters, discharging to circular section downpipes.

Materials
ROOF: Natural slate: Bangor Blues with bands of Westmoreland Green
RWG: Replacement profiled metal gutters & circular section downpipes
WALLS: Red brick, Flemish bond with sandstone dressings
WINDOWS: Coloured and lattice leaded single-glazed fixed lights over replacement side hung timber framed double glazed casements (unless otherwise described).

NW and SE elevations embellished with quatrefoil dressed sandstone plaque bearing ‘WCB’ monogram (Wesleyan Methodist College). Shouldered openings to ground floor; trefoil arched attic windows to attic that are centred on gables, paired to NW and SE elevations and divided by dwarf sandstone columns. These columns and surrounds to all openings have been largely repaired with cement render; original surrounds presumed to have been sandstone to match those surviving to stair turret. Relieving arches in red brick soldier or header courses above openings.

Original attic window to SW elevation with metal-framed hopper below fixed light. Three slot windows to stair tower: one retains original leaded glass but is boarded up inside; another remains open but is fitted with translucent glass;and the third is blocked up. Continuous plat band at impost level to ground floor windows and chamfered base plinth now entirely covered in cement render.

Principal Elevation
Gate lodge entered from Lisburn Road (NW) elevation. Diagonally sheeted timber door with decorative cast iron brackets and lion-head knocker (possibly original). Entrance opens onto sandstone step with path of concrete paving slabs leading to gate at College Gardens (SW). Stepped buttress to the right of the entrance door, with original leaded light to recess. Dressed sandstone plaque and other detailing as noted above. Window to left of door, with attic window aligned directly above.

SW Elevation
Gabled with single storey canted bay, symmetrically placed and having carved sandstone cornice to eaves, otherwise fully rendered in cement; three windows to bay, without over-light; and one window to attic (described above).

SE Elevation
Mirrored form of principal elevation; except with no door.

NE Elevation
Flat roofed single storey extension spans full width of the NE facing gable. Same red brick in Flemish bond. Segmental-headed door completely blocked up and cement rendered; uPVC side hung double-glazed casement window to chamfered corner.

Setting
The building is set back from the road with lawns to its NW and SW. Mature hedging aligns perimeter along these frontages and also forms SE boundary with No. 33 College Gardens (HB26.28.023). Mix of metal and timber fencing separates property from tarmacked car park to its NE. Located within Queens Conservation Area.

Historical information

Background - College Gardens is located on land which prior to the early 19th century had been one of the series of strip farms running from what is now the Malone and University Roads to the Bog Meadows. Probably laid out in early 1600s, the integrity of these was broken up by the cutting of the Lisburn Road in 1816-19 and the construction of the Ulster Railway in 1837-39. Around the same time, greater security of tenure from the Donegall estate lead to the gentrification of what remained of these farms with the building (or upgrading of existing structures) to create small country villas and the laying out of small demesnes within the plots formerly farmed. The land to the immediate north and south of College Gardens belonged to such a villa, ‘Vermont’, a pre-1770 house, possibly rebuilt or enlarged c.1815 and enlarged again c.1840s – on this occasion by John Riddell, a Belfast ironmonger. The building of Queen’s College a short distance to the north-east in 1845 sparked the suburbanisation of the area, and in 1865 Vermont itself was sold for the building of another educational establishment, Methodist College. The latter was completed in 1868 and a new private avenue laid out the lower ground to the immediate north, with building plots on the northern side. Beginning at the eastern end, present nos.1-6 were constructed in 1871, nos.7-18 in 1877, no.33 and 34 (see below) in 1879, 19-22 in 1881, 23-26 in 1882 and 27-32 in 1883.

No.34 – This small dwelling was built in 1879 as a gate lodge to serve the western drive (off Lisburn Road) to Methodist College. Designed by John Lanyon of Lanyon, Lynn & Lanyon, the tender notice for building work was advertised in September 1878 and the building occupied the following year by a Henry Crawford.

Mr Crawford is noted in the 1880 street directory as a gardener, suggesting that his role encompassed the care of the College grounds. He remained in residence until c.1893, when J. Baillie is recorded as the occupant; he is listed as the ‘sexton, University Road Methodist Church’ an establishment with obvious links to the College itself and to the neighbouring building (present no.33 College Gardens) which originally served as that church’s manse. William J. Wallace took over this position in 1900 and in the 1901 census he is noted as living in the lodge with his wife Jane, their young daughter and his father, with the lodge itself a second class dwelling containing five rooms. David Ringland was the next resident. He is merely listed as a ‘caretaker’ in the directories, and styles himself as a ‘general labourer’ in the 1911 census; the same document records the house was possessing four rooms as opposed to the five of 1901, with Mr. Ringland’s wife, Mary Jane, and two grown-up sons named as living there also. John Fisher (‘caretaker’) had become householder by c.1915, William Whyte by c.1922, and J.H. Lunney (‘land steward’) by c.1930. Mr. Lunney he was still there in 1943, but had been succeeded by J.J. Philips (‘janitor’) by 1951, who in turn was followed by J. McLaughlin later in that decade. Mr. McLaughlin was still there in 1974, but by 1980 the building is noted in the directory as a student residence. It was still noted as such in 1996 however, it was actually occupied by the College cook by this point. Since c.2000 the property has been rented out as a private residence.

The building has lost some of its finer elements of external detailing / embellishments (finials etc.) and cement render has been applied over most of the sandstone dressings. Photographic evidence shows that the latter was carried out prior to 1974, possibly in the 1960s, when the flat-roofed extension to the rear was added.

No34 College Gardens was listed in Sept 1979. H.E.D. Files record that the gate lodge was extensively refurbished in 1986-7 including roof & turret reslated on new timber battens; lead flashings replaced; RWGs replaced in cast aluminium; plinth replastered in sand cement; all ground floor timber including floor joists and boards, skirting boards, architraves and doors, removed and replaced with solid floor construction and DPC injected. Chimney pots replaced to match existing 2005 and windows replaced in 2006.

References – Primary sources
1 PRONI VAL12B/43D/7 annual valuation revision book, 1862-82
2 ‘Belfast Telegraph’, 14 Sept 1878
3 ‘Belfast and Province of Ulster Street Directory’, (Belfast News-Letter, Belfast), various dates from 1880 to 1996
4 PRONI VAL12B/43D/14 annual valuation revision book, 1882-96
5 PRONI OS8/30/3/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1883-84
6 PRONI OS8/30/4/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1896
7 PRONI VAL12B/43A/36 annual valuation revision book, 1897-1905
8 PRONI VAL7B/14/15 valuation of Belfast, c.1900-01
9 Census of Ireland, 1901, 1911 [online - http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/]
10 PRONI OS8/30/5/49 OS town plan of Belfast, 1903
11 PRONI VAL12B/43P/3 valuation book, 1906-15
12 PRONI VAL12B/43P/7 valuation book, 1916-30
13 OS maps, 1958, 1970 (online - http://www.centremapslive.co.uk/)

Secondary sources
1 Carleton, S.T., ‘The growth of South Belfast’, (unpublished QUB MA thesis), 1967
2 Rowan, A.J. And Brett, C.E.B., Historic Buildings...Queens University of Belfast, (Belfast, UAHS, 1968)
3 Dean, J.A.K., ‘The gate lodges of Ulster, a gazetteer’, (Belfast, UAHS, 1994), p
4 Information supplied by Methodist College (October 2016)

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
H-. Alterations detracting from building
J. Setting
K. Group value

Criteria for listing: historic interest

S. Authenticity
V. Authorship
R. Age
X. Local Interest

Evaluation

Asymmetrical high Victorian red brick gate lodge designed by John Lanyon in 1879 as a porter’s lodge for Methodist College, Belfast. Largely characterised by steeply pitched gables and stair turret with fish scale banding and conical roof. Architecturally distinctive and a good example of its type, with some remaining carved sandstone detail and delicate lattice leaded overlights. Original plan largely intact, with interesting changes of level. Interior modernised, with some historic detailing remaining. Poor replacement windows and cement render repairs detract.
The gate lodge has significant group value with Methodist College, McArthur Hall (HB26.28.026 & 27) and the gate screen to the western entrance (HB26.28.025) thus embracing the length of College Gardens and forming a striking set piece within the Queens Conservation Area.